Seize the Fire: Heroism, Duty, and Nelson's Battle of TrafalgarHarper Collins, 13 paź 2009 - 384 “Strikingly original. . . . Nicolson brings to life superbly the horror, devastation, and gore of Trafalgar.” —The Economist Adam Nicolson takes the great naval battle of Trafalgar, fought between the British and Franco-Spanish fleets, and uses it to examine our idea of heroism and the heroic. A story rich with modern resonance, Seize the Fire reveals the economic impact of the battle as a victorious Great Britain emerged as a global commercial empire. In October 1805 Lord Horatio Nelson, the most brilliant sea commander who ever lived, led the British Royal Navy to a devastating victory over the Franco-Spanish fleets at the great battle of Trafalgar. It was the foundation of Britain's nineteenth-century world-dominating empire. Seize the Fire is not only a close and revealing portrait of a legendary hero in his final action but also a vivid account of the brutal realities of battle; it asks the questions: Why did the winners win? What was it about the British, their commanders and their men, their beliefs and their ambitions, that took them to such overwhelming victory? His masterful history is a portrait of a moment, a close and passionately engaged depiction of a frame of mind at a turning point in world history. |
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... was wanted , straight into the jaws of the British guns . Twenty minutes after the first sighting in the light of dawn , Nelson signalled to the fleet : ' Form order of sailing in two columns . ' This was the attack formation 3 1 Zeal.
... guns , but they are not enough . Two British ships , the Berwick and the Swiftsure , both in fact fought on the ... gun ship Pompée , which had been captured by the British in 1793. The Spanish fleet had in large part been built by ...
... gun crews were able to fire one round every five minutes from each of their 32lb cannon . Most British crews could manage a round every ninety seconds . The best could reduce that time by a third . The Spanish commander , Vice - Admiral ...
... gun ship had by the end of the century become the workhorse of all navies heavy enough to confront anything , fast enough to pursue any other ship - of - the - line . But to create a 74 - gun ship required 100,000 cubic feet of timber ...
... guns and their shot which would do the damage at Trafalgar . It was the very bodies of the ships themselves , and the materials of which the ships were made , which imposed the financial strain , demanding from the British government ...
Spis treści
3 | |
Order and Anxiety | 49 |
Honour | 93 |
Love | 130 |
Boldness | 157 |
Violence | 209 |
Humanity | 239 |
Nobility | 275 |
BIBLIOGRAPHY | 319 |
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Seize the Fire: Heroism, Duty, and Nelson's Battle of Trafalgar Adam Nicolson Podgląd niedostępny - 2006 |